AMD announces Kabini, Temash and Richland

Just days after Microsoft announced the Xbox One, based on a custom Jaguar chip, AMD has officially announced Temash, Kabini and low-power Richland parts. Since we’re been talking about Jaguar and Piledriver for ages, we won’t focus on the actual specs this time around - AMD’s performance figures are what stands out.

Temash, or 2013 AMD Elite Mobility APU as it is officially known as of today, is designed for tablets and hybrids up to 13 inches. AMD says it delivers 172 percent more CPU performance than its previous generation chips such as Hondo and up to 212 percent better graphics, courtesy of AMD’s CGN architecture. As if that wasn’t enough, it is also 45 percent more power efficient than the competition and it has five times more GPU muscle than current generation Atoms targeted at the same market.

Kabini is now known as 2013 AMD Mainstream APU and it should cover a much bigger swath of the market. Compared to previous low-end AMD APUs, it delivers 132 percent better visual performance per watt, along with 127 percent better productivity performance per watt, which translates into more battery life, up to 11 hours of battery idle. It can also wipe the floor with Intel chips, with up to 88 percent better GPU performance, 33 percent better gaming performance and 29 percent faster file compression. The last number is perhaps the most significant, as number crunching was traditionally the weakest link in AMD APUs.

Richland had its name changed to 2013 AMD Elite Performance APU and although it doesn’t deliver the same leap in performance like Jaguar-based parts, it ends up 12 percent faster than Trinity in productivity, while visual performance is 20 to 40 percent better. The big news is that it is up to 51 percent more efficient than its predecessor. It also bests the competition in gaming by 39 to 72 percent.

2013 is shaping up to be the Year of the Jaguar for AMD. With three console wins under its belt, it is finally bringing the new core to PC lovers and the numbers look promising to say the least. In addition to being quick, the Jaguar die is tiny and should be cheap to build, which means better prices for end-users and higher margins for AMD. Now the ball is in Intel's court and we're waiting for its Atom "tick".